Mangan P.I.? ‘Ice Cream’ representing Brenham nicely

COLLEGE STATION — Middle linebacker Kyle Mangan has an identity crisis. His Texas A&M coaches routinely mangle Mangan’s name, calling him everything from a former P.I. (Magnum) to a road in Houston (Mangum).

So they finally settled on a nickname — sort of. Some call him “Ice Cream.” Others call him “Blue Bell.”

“Just because I’m from Brenham,” the freshman Mangan (right) said, shrugging. “And all they know about Brenham is Blue Bell.”

Not a bad thing to be known for, by the way (although I’d like to take this moment to recognize Brenham for its bluebonnets and baseball, as well). As one fellow scribe pointed out, as long as he never becomes known as Soft Serve, the Aggies should be all right at the position.

Mangan earned his first start at middle linebacker on Saturday in the Aggies’ 41-6 victory over New Mexico, and collected the first of A&M’s five sacks on the night.

“He’s a young kid who has a long ways to go, but I thought his toughness and effort were exemplary,” Aggies coach Mike Sherman said. “He’ll just keep getting better.”

Mangan has time to do so, as well, between A&M’s first and second games. The Aggies next play on Sept. 19 at home against Utah State, which dropped its season opener 35-17 to in-state rival Utah last Thursday.

Both teams are the Aggies, which should cause nearly as much confusion as Mangan’s last name in a week and a half at Kyle.